Changing the website’s theme has involved a few small tweaks2 :
For about four days the Articles section was merged with the Blog section. This has been fixed.
I’ve found a really great plugin that allows me to insert footnotes into blog posts.3 My previous attempts at inserting footnotes manually were either time consuming or incredibly clumsy. 4
I’ve made minor alterations to the current theme – background colors, menu ordering, etc.
Some people were separating their WCAB “legacy” number to ADJ number searches by semi-colons, rather than commas. I believe there’s really no sense in fighting users. 5 If a slightly different method makes sense to users, go with it. I’ve adjusted the WCAB “legacy” number to ADJ number search function so that you can separate by semi-colons or commas.6
In printing out some Average Weekly Wage calculations, I discovered to my dismay that this website looked terrible when you tried to print it out. Worse yet, the website header, sidebar, and other navigation information took up nearly a page. This meant that a printout of a calculation might span two or more pages. I’ve since fixed this using some particularly cool CSS.7
The first type of smell test is a very literal smelling test. A bachelor smells an article of clothing to determine whether said article of clothing could be worn on that day around the people said bachelor anticipates being near. Doesn’t smell bad? Put it on! Smells bad? Turn it inside-out and put it on!
The second type of “smell test” is where you evaluate a situation based upon your gut reaction.
Some blame “credit default swaps” for our current financial crisis. (Disclaimer: I have no special knowledge about finance – I just listen to NPR constantly). So, here’s what happened:
Investors (Company A) buy up lots of sub-prime mortgages through a trust.
Company A, looking to make money as investors are wont to do, sell pieces of the trust as if they were stocks.
Other people (Company B), having seen these investors buying up risky sub-prime mortgages, have a great idea – “credit default swaps.” (Or, as they are known on NPR, “CDS’s”).
Company B promises Company A that, in exchange for a very reasonable sum, if one of the people living in one of those sub-prime mortgage homes stops paying that mortgage, Company B will be responsible for that lost asset and income.
Company B tells Company A that this wonderful product is called a “credit default swap,” and that it is definitely-not-insurance. In fact, its significantly cheaper than buying insurance.
Since Company B is not selling insurance they don’t have to be regulated like insurance. Insurance companies are required to hold “reserves.” A “reserve” is simply money that can’t be spent in case an insurance company be required to honor some of their insurance policies.
There are so many Company A‘s looking to hedge their bets that all the Company B‘s CDS’s are selling like hotcakes. The people that own Company B are so pleased with themselves that they don’t really bother with reserves.
In a few years those sub-prime mortgages with adjustable rates were finally out of their introductory rate period – and thousands of people start defaulting on their loans.
Company A‘s portfolio is now worthless, but they are very happy they had so much foresight as to take out not-insurance policies with Company B.
Company B‘s doesn’t pick up the phones. Their offices are boarded up, the e-mails bounce back, and Company A stops getting Christmas cards from Company B.
The problem is that Company B went out of their way to invent something that was definitely-not-insurance so they wouldn’t be regulated like insurance companies. Obviously, Company B didn’t use the “smell test” when they designed their product. If they had, they would have charged more or kept more money in reserve.
Unfortunately, Company A didn’t use the “smell test” either when shopping around for a way to insure their investments. You don’t insure your home, car, or life with the cheapest or newest insurance company. You choose a company that has been around a while and charges reasonable rates for reasonable risk.
When people stop performing the “smell test” $62,000,000,000,000.00 evaporates overnight.
First off, don’t be afraid, this is the same website you’ve come to know and love. Change can be good! Besides, this latest change is almost 100% cosmetic.
The last theme I used was based upon the fantastic WordPress Themer Kit, which is an incredible tool for people who either have little graphic design skill or who don’t want to build a new theme from scratch. Ultimately, I just don’t have the skill, time, or inclination to build an aesthetically pleasing theme. (But, let’s be real, its mostly the lack of skill thing).
That said, I am good at adjusting and incorporating. The original Aeros theme looked significantly different than the one you see. I’ve changed the background color, removed the slight transparency, highlighted the different sidebar sections, and moved the top menu to the left side. Since the theme was open source, this mostly involved tinkering with the CSS and underlying PHP.
September 2008 was a pretty good month for PDRater.com. Yay! ((Original photo courtesy of Daniel Martini. Mad photoshop skillz, all mine!))
Not so good for the economy. Boo! Perhaps this website needs a new, darker, tagline? How about: “When you’ve lost everything else, you’ve still got PDRater.com”
Here’s my favorite posts from this past month.
I had the most fun with the “End of the World” posts from mid-September. If you read nothing else, check out the one labeled, “The End of the World: A To Do List“. That one is worth a look for my mad photoshop skillz alone.
For the more practical minded, the Road Warrior Checklists might be helpful. I think I’ve got at least one more “Road Warrior Checklist” in me. Also, I’ve provided some advice on what to do when your laptop stops working.
